


I've Fallen Prey to a Curse I Can't Disown

by celt_the_flame_3110



Series: werewolf!Richie vampire!Eddie AU 'verse [1]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Established Relationship, Fluff, Halloween, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, M/M, Married Couple, Married Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Mentioned Sonia Kaspbrak, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Sonia Kaspbrak Being Terrible, Vampire Eddie Kaspbrak, Werewolf Richie Tozier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:54:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27321544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celt_the_flame_3110/pseuds/celt_the_flame_3110
Summary: Richie went through a rough transformation and is sore. His vampire husband, Eddie, is there to help.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Series: werewolf!Richie vampire!Eddie AU 'verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2102571
Comments: 12
Kudos: 77





	I've Fallen Prey to a Curse I Can't Disown

**Author's Note:**

> So I used to hate vampires and werewolves, until Lock and Alecks went off about them and now I'm kinda in love low-key.
> 
> Anyway, not your typical Halloween fic, but here. Have some fluff if you need a break from all of the spooks.
> 
> Quick word of caution: Richie is a werewolf and just transformed back into a human, so he exhibits dog-like behavior.
> 
> So be careful if that bothers you.
> 
> Enjoy the fic!

Richie felt somebody gently shake his arm. After waking, the first thing he noticed was a strong, flowery smell laced with something metallic. The next thing he noticed, immediately after, was that he was  _ very _ sore. He couldn’t even point out what specifically was sore if anyone asked him. It was just  _ everything. _

Richie slowly opened his eyes to see his husband (the source of said flowery smell) crouched before him.

Eddie gave him a bright smile, fangs glistening. “Hey, there he is! How are you feeling?”

When he and Eddie first got married and installed this fortified room in their house, it took Richie a while to figure out where he was after waking up. It was terrifying the first year or so, waking up in an empty, stone room after his monthly transformations. After a while, he would realize that this was the room Eddie would put him in (at Richie’s request) so he wouldn’t hurt any humans while he was in wolf form.

The only bad thing about it now was that Eddie had to let him out when it was over.

For the first few years, the locked door kept the wolf contained and Richie was only able to unlock it after becoming human again. Eventually, however, the wolf in him got smarter and somehow he was able to get it unlocked. Thankfully he didn’t hurt anyone after that first night but he wanted Eddie to make sure he couldn’t get the door open again.

So they fixed it to where the lock was on the  _ outside. _ This led to him having to yell for Eddie to come let him out until he finally did.

Now, after years of doing this, It didn’t even take a full glance around the room for Richie to figure out where he was and Eddie now had Richie’s transformation schedule memorized. So he would go in a few minutes before Richie would usually wake up on his own to wake him up himself.

Richie gave him a weak smile in return. “Like shit.”

Eddie’s smile faded. “How bad is it?”

“Not as bad as my teen years, but the worst one in a while.”

Eddie reached forward and touched Richie’s cheek, he seemed to note how Richie instinctively leaned into it. “What hurts?”

“Everything.”

Eddie hummed sympathetically, using his other hand to stoke Richie’s back. “I’m sorry, love.”

Eddie usually made a point to be punctual in all things. Even Richie and Eddie’s free time was at least loosely scheduled. (Because Eddie had a hard time relaxing when he had unscheduled free time, since he always had a lingering feeling that he should be doing  _ something.) _

When Eddie finally realized how taxing Richie’s transformations were on his body, and that it was easier on Richie if Eddie was there to help him through it, he decided to “clear the schedule” for both of them entirely. He would take time off of work, reschedule appointments, and would even make sure there were enough supplies for the both of them at home so neither of them would have to leave the house.

Words couldn’t even express how fucking  _ grateful _ Richie was for that.

So instead of making Richie get up and do shit, Eddie just smoothed his hand up and down Richie’s back in comforting motions, giving him extra time to rest.

They sat like that for a moment and Richie almost drifted off to sleep again, nearly forgetting how badly everything ached. 

But Eddie eventually broke the silence, “Do you think you can walk?”

Richie shook his head, knowing that he could barely stand up right now.

Eddie gave him a small smile. “That’s alright. I’ll take care of you.”

Richie found himself genuinely smiling at that,  _ so _ lucky that this man he decided to marry.

Thankfully, Eddie spoke again before Richie could start crying. “Okay, so where to? I was thinking of getting you into a warm bath first, it’ll soothe your aches and get you clean. Then we can lie down in bed and relax. Sound good?”

“That sounds perfect.”

Eddie wasted no time in sliding an arm under his legs. “Want a countdown or do you want me to just do it?”

“Just go for it.”

Eddie did just that, swiftly but carefully scooping Richie up as he stood to his feet. He kept the one arm under Richie’s legs and used the other one to support his back. Eddie wasn’t particularly rough but the sudden shift from lying on the ground to being up in the air caused Richie’s sore muscles to scream.

He couldn’t stop the involuntary, pained groan from escaping his mouth.

Eddie mercifully didn’t start moving yet, he just held Richie and waited.

When Richie was finally able to steady his breathing, he managed to say, “Go ahead.”

Eddie carried him out of the room and down the hallway to the bathroom. Since Eddie had super strength, there wasn’t much jostling. Richie’s pain was still there, obviously, but it wasn’t made worse by Eddie’s movements.

When they reached the bathroom Eddie was getting ready to sit Richie on the edge of the tub, so he could fill it, but Richie made a noise of protest.

“What’s wrong?” Eddie asked, immediately pausing his movements.

“It’ll hurt again.” Richie whined.

“Rich, I’m just gonna have to sit you down  _ again _ once I get the bath ready..”

“I know, but… can you just wait until  _ then _ to sit me down?”

After considering this for a moment, Eddie let out a deep sigh. “Fine. But if I drop you, that’s on you. No bitching.”

Richie wrapped his arms around Eddie’s neck (with great effort on his part,) so Eddie could use the arm around his back to get stuff ready. Eddie, keeping one arm under Richie’s knees to support his weight, used the other hand to get the water running at the right temperature.

“What do you want me to add to it?”

Usually Richie wanted Eddie to add bubbles to the bath—he may be a middle aged man, but that didn’t mean he had to be boring—and Eddie would do it, no matter how silly it may seem. But when Richie was especially sore after a transformation, he didn’t care for bubble beards.

“Do you have more of that bath salt that you put in last time?”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Of course I do. Do you think I went on a supply run yesterday for nothing?”

Eddie reached into the bathroom cabinet and produced a small, black pouch with a drawstring. He somehow managed to open it one-handed and tilted it over the tub. The white, crystalline salt promptly dissolved as it hit the water. The scent of coconut wafted up to Richie’s nose and he didn’t realize how tense his shoulders were until they finally relaxed.

Eddie stopped pouring salt in when he deemed the amount sufficient. Once the pouch was tied shut, Eddie reached down with his hand and started dragging it through the water.

When the salts were thoroughly mixed in and the tub was filled enough, Eddie turned the water off. He then gently,  _ very _ gently, sat Richie down in the warm water. The water engulfing him felt  _ amazing _ and he couldn’t suppress the sigh of relief that followed even if he wanted to.

The pain was still there. (Transformation pains lasted for a good three days after the ordeal, no matter what.) But warm baths and massages always made Richie feel better. 

Eddie crouched next to the tub and cupped Riche’s face in his hands, kissing his forehead. Richie smiled and leaned into the touch.

When they first started dating, it took a while for them to figure out how to kiss without harming each other. Even kisses on the cheek or forehead were dangerous. Eddie had a scar on his cheek from where Richie tried to kiss him but accidentally split the skin open. (Richie  _ still _ felt terrible about that, no matter how much Eddie assured him that it was alright.)

Now, after years of marriage, they could pretty much make out and  _ (carefully) _ leave hickeys on each other without drawing any blood.

With Eddie’s hands holding his face, his lips on his forehead, and the smell of coconut filling his nose, the pain was long forgotten and Richie felt like he could fall asleep.

Since Eddie could probably see Richie’s eyelids drooping, he said, “Don’t fall asleep yet. I need to go to our room and get some stuff ready.”

Richie couldn’t help the pathetic whine that came out of his mouth.

Eddie pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. “It’s okay. I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

Richie finally nodded to give Eddie permission to leave.

Eddie wasn’t gone for that long but, when Richie felt like shit, five minutes felt like fifty.

Eddie was finally back after what felt like an eternity, crouching next to the tub again.

But Richie wasn’t content with that. He wanted his husband to be even closer to him.

“Can you get in with me?”

Eddie seemed surprised that Richie would ask that of him, his brow creasing with worry. “Rich… I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

That’s when Richie remembered: Eddie’s mom tricked him into believing that  _ everything _ could kill a vampire. Eddie was always too scared to leave the house for  _ years, _ being scared that he was constantly susceptible to death.

Even after learning the truth and attending therapy sessions, Eddie still struggled with anxiety when it came to certain things.

Richie reached out and took Eddie’s hands. “Eds. Do you remember what kills vampires?”

Even if Richie didn’t have excellent hearing, he wouldn’t have missed the sharp intake of breath that Edde did. “Rich…”

“I know you don’t like to think about it, but you have to for a second. What  _ actually _ kills vampires?

His arms started to tremble, so Richie started bushing his thumbs across the back of Eddie’s hands in an attempt to soothe him.

As much as it terrified Eddie to talk about death, it was necessary to tell Eddie what was real and what was a lie fabricated by his controlling mother.

“A stake in the heart, decapitation, and silver weapons are the only things that can actually kill vampires. It doesn’t matter what the folklore and rumors say. We both know that  _ that’s _ the truth.”

Eddie gazed at Rizie, wide-eyed.  _ “Do _ we, though?”

Richie smiled at him reassuringly. “Yes, darling. We do. They’ve done research on what can kill and weaken vampires. So we know this for a  _ fact.” _

Richie kissed the back of Eddie’s hand to ease into what he wanted to say next. 

“Crosses, garlic, fire, and sunlight can all weaken you, but they’re not fatal. They only make you more susceptible to death. Meaning you could sunbathe while eating garlic bread, if you wanted to, and you would be  _ fine.” _

“But mom said werewol-”

“Baby. I’ve  _ bitten _ you before, and you  _ survived.” _

“But there was  _ so much pain.” _

“Honey, there would have been  _ more _ pain if you were human. You being a vampire is the only reason you actually survived. So the coconut scented bath salt won’t kill you.”

Eddie started chewing the inside of his cheek, so Richie added, “If you don’t wanna get in, that’s fine. I understand how nervous it makes you. You being next to me is close enough. I just thought you’d like to be in the bath too.”

Eddie was silent for a minute and Richie was afraid that he was going to leave the room altogether but he just asked, “Can I get out if I hate it?”

Richie smiled. “Of course you can. I’m not going to force you to do something you don’t want to.”

Richie remembers the  _ awful _ stuff Eddie told him about his mother, the lies about weaknesses was just the tip of the iceberg. She forced him to do all kinds of harmful shit. Eddie couldn’t even blink without her permission.

So the one thing Richie would  _ never _ do was try to control Eddie. Eddie was his own person and deserved to think for himself.

Eddie nodded, still looking a little unsure. “Okay… I’ll try it.”

“That’s all I ask of you.”

Eddie, prompt as ever, slipped his t-shirt off, then pulled his shorts and boxer briefs off in one swift motion.

Once he was undressed, Eddie asked, “Where do you want me?”

Richie loved to hold Eddie but he loved being held even more when he felt bad. But Richie wasn’t sure if Eddie sitting behind him would make the pain worse.

Richie just shrugged.

“Okay, scoot forward.”

Richie did what he was told, carefully moving towards the front of the tub. He winced as his muscles yelled at him for the movement, but the pain was muted by the bath water.

Moments later, Eddie was conscientiously sliding in behind Richie. Eddie placed his legs on either side of Richie’s thighs, pulling him back until Richie was resting in the cradle of his hips and his back was to Eddie’s chest.

Eddie let out a content sigh and Richie let one out with him, happy to have skin-to-skin contact. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, with Eddie kissing the nape of Richie’s neck and Richie stroking Eddie’s leg with poor coordination.

Eddie finally murmured, “I can see why you like these so much.”

Richie knew that Eddie was essentially the temperature of a corpse, but he liked being warm. Eddie had described it before, basically that being cold didn’t bother him but being warm felt nice. 

So Richie figured that Eddie would like baths.

“Yeah, they’re nice.”

“I feel… weak? But, like, in a good way.”

Richie snorted. “It’s called being relaxed, Eds.”

“Well, I like it. Hand me your shampoo.”

Richie did so eagerly, snatching his shampoo off of the edge of the tub and practically tossing it back to Eddie.

Richie heard Eddie chuckle and the sound of a cap being flicked open. Soon, he heard Eddie squirting shampoo into his hand and then spreading it onto both palms. Then Richie felt the heavenly sensation of Eddie starting to lather the shampoo through his curls.

Richie fucking  _ purred _ as Eddie pleasantly dug his nails in.

Eddie laughed. “Feel good?”

“Mmm hmm,” Richie hummed.

Eddie kissed across his shoulders as he shampooed and conditioned Richie’s hair. Well… Richie assumed that Eddie conditioned his hair, since he was sure that he dozed off in the middle of it. Richie knew his husband like the back of his hand after years of marriage, so he was pretty secure in his assumption.

Richie woke up to Eddie dragging a sudsy loofah up and down his chest, kissing down the length of his back. 

Which was a little confusing. He thought that Eddie had gotten rid of those...

Richie murmured a contended noise and huffed a soft laugh. “I thought you hated loofahs because of the germs.”

Richie could practically  _ hear _ the eyeroll. “I  _ do, _ but I know that you like the way that they feel. I’m throwing it away after we’re done with it, though. That’s why I bought a pack of them on my supply run.”

That made Richie want to cry, but he didn’t want to have a stuffy nose on top of all the other shit he had to deal with.

But Richie’s voice was a little choked as he asked, “Have I told you today that I love you? Because I do. A lot.”

Eddie snorted. 

“Oh? Is that what these mean?” he asked, tapping the ring on his left hand to Richie’s matching one.

While a marriage between a vampire and a werewolf wasn’t illegal, it was frowned upon. It wasn’t as frowned upon now as it was back in the day, but most people weren’t accepting of it. So vampire/vampire and werewolf/werewolf weddings were “the norm.” As such, vampire weddings and werewolf weddings had their own unique customs that would make a vampire/werewolf wedding painful or fatal.

So Richie and Eddie decided to abide by human marriage customs.

When they were looking for wedding bands, Eddie didn’t want gold because it was “too tacky” but neither of them could use silver for obvious reasons (well… Technically it couldn’t kill either of them but it would  _ burn _ and be downright uncomfortable to wear constantly.) Thankfully, palladium was a color that they were both okay with.

Richie’s dumb eyes started to sting 

“Yep. Was that not clear enough when I proposed? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.” Richie thickly joked, his voice cracking. 

Eddie chuckled, going back to scrubbing Richie’s body and kissing the back of his neck. “I love you too.” 

Those words. Those three (or four) simple words made Richie  _ melt, _ even after all of these years.

Even after Richie was clean, Eddie let the two of them stay in the tub until Richie started shivering from the gradual temperature change.

Eddie got out first, grabbing one of his towels from the closet in the bathroom and quickly drying himself off. Once Richie had drained the tub and stepped out of it, Eddie was holding one of Richie’s towels open for him to step into.

Eddie dried Richie delicately from head to toe and then wrapped Richie in the soft towel once he was done.

“Can you walk to bed?” Eddie asked.

Richie still hurt all over but the warm bath helped the aches  _ immensely. _ Now the pains were transformation pains that he was used to: unpleasant, for sure, but he could at least walk around now.

Richie nodded in response.

Eddie let Richie lead the way to their bedroom, keeping a hand on his forearm in case he needed assistance. It wasn’t that long of a walk but all walks lasted longer after transformation days.

When they got to their destination, Eddie wrapped an arm around Richie’s waist and slowly lowered him onto the bed. He was sure that Eddie was doing this because Richie had the tendency to collapse onto the bed when he was tired or feeling like shit, which would make his pain worse.

Leave it to Eddie to remember the little things.

Eddie sat down on the bed, his back against the headboard, and he patted the space of the bed between his spread legs.

“C’mere, Rich. I’ll rub your shoulders for you.”

Richie knew that Eddie would scold him for moving too quickly, so he didn’t, but Richie moved eagerly nonetheless.

Once Richie was in front of him, Eddie removed the towel and gestured to the clothes next to the bed. There were a few different comfortable outfits that Richie liked to wear around the house (plus sleeping shorts and one of Richie's t-shirts for Eddie.) The clothes were on the ground and Richie didn’t want to risk making the pain worse, so he just pointed to the pair of sweatpants.

Eddie grabbed the pants off of the floor and handed them to Richie. As Eddie changed into his own clothes, Richie slid the gray sweatpants on, disregarding the boxers that were neatly folded in the middle.

Eddie let out a deep sigh. “Are you  _ kidding _ me?”

“What?”

“Rich… You can’t just  _ go commando. _ You  _ know _ what that does to me!”

Richie turned around slightly to throw Eddie a wink. “Who said I couldn’t knot you after a transformation?”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “It wouldn’t even fi—Nevermind… With how much pain you’re in,  _ no one _ is getting fucked tonight.”

Richie gave Eddie his best sad eyes. “But—”

“Do you want me to rub your shoulders or not?”

Richie nodded.

“Then turn the fuck back around.”

On a normal day, Richie would’ve kept joking about it just to piss Eddie off. But since Richie fucking  _ hurt _ and he coudn’t risk Eddie caling the massage off, he did as he was told.

Richie heard another cap click open and the sound of Eddie squirting lotion into his hand. There was a slight squelching sound as Eddie spread the lotion onto both palms. 

Eddie started at his shoulders and just smoothed his hands up and down Richie’s back. The scent of vanilla drew a relaxed breath out of Richie as he breathed it in.

Normally, when Eddie would give Richie a massage, he would dig his fingers in hard. Because, according to Eddie, massages weren’t effective without proper pressure. Of course Richie still loved receiving them and would still practically beg Eddie for one if his back was sore. But they always hurt before he actually felt better.

The first time Richie begged Eddie for a massage after a transformation, it didn’t take long for Richie to be in  _ tears. _ It made the pain  _ even worse _ and it didn’t feel better for the rest of the day. 

Ever since then, Eddie would just gently rub Richie’s shoulders with little to no pressure after transformations. Even if it didn’t make the pain go away, it still felt nice to have Eddie’s hands on him.

“Want some pressure?” Eddie asked softly.

Richie shook his head. “Not today, lovely.”

Richie felt Eddie nod behind him as he continued to stoke his back.

Richie wasn’t sure how long this went on for, but he was in such a state of bliss that he didn’t care. He would’ve happily sat there forever with his eyes closed and Eddie rubbed his back and shoulders.

Eventually, Eddie tried to hand Richie a stick of beef jerky.

Richie’s stomach turned and he turned his head in the opposite direction.

Eddie sighed. “Rich, you  _ need _ to eat. You haven’t eaten anything in a whole day.”

The only thing Richie liked to consume while in wolf form was human flesh. Eddie tired leaving wet and dry domestic dog food in the metal room, but none of it was ever eaten. Then he tried some raw beef from the grocery store, that wasn't touched either. The next transformation, Eddie left a chicken carcass in the room. Not a single feather was missing.

So eating something the day after was essential. The only problem was that Richie never had an appetite on days like these. He still craved flesh and no other food sounded appealing to him. If Eddie didn’t hold him down and force the food into his mouth, Richie wouldn’t eat until the day after at the earliest.

Eddie tossed the beef jerky stick back into the nightstand drawer and Richie thought that this was the end of it. He hoped that Eddie would just drop it and give up entirely. But, istead, to Richie’s surprise, Eddie handed him a piece of Dove chocolate.

Richie eyed the wrapped candy suspiciously as if it were poison rather than a treat.

“I’ve gotta give you something that your human side loves more than your wolf side hates.” Eddie explained.

Richie was allowed to have chocolate but he could only partially digest it (since dogs can’t digest theobromine but humans can, and Richie is half of both.) It worked like lactose intolerance in humans. The varying genetics from werewolf to werewolf played a huge part in how much chocolate each can tolerate before they started to get sick.

So Eddie kept the bag of chocolates in a box that he kept locked at all times (Richie noticed that there were only five pieces in their nightstand drawer at a time.)

Richie could eat an entire chocolate bar and not be affected. If he ate a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing, though, he would be in pain and nauseous.

So Edde tried his best to encourage Richie to eat sweets with no chocolate and tried to not keep much of it in the house. Because Richie would eat an entire bag of Reese’s cups and get a terrible stomach ache.

Richie took the piece of chocolate and unwrapped it, popping it into his mouth. Once it was chewed and swallowed Eddie offered him a second, then a third.

After that Richie’s stomach audibally growled.

Eddie didn’t usually feed Richie much chocolate right after a transformation; neither of them knew whether he was more vulnerable to theobromine during that time but neither of them wanted to risk it.

Eddie put both hands in front of Richie. One held another piece of chocolate and the other held a snack-sized container of peanut butter.

Logically, Richie knew that he needed to eat something healthier for him. Even though he was craving chocolate still, he didn’t want to end up getting sick on top of all of the other shit wrong with him.

So Richie took the peanut butter. He peeled the plastic top off and started licking the butter straight out of the container.

Some vampires and humans that had werewolves as spouses would treat them as dogs rather than humans. They would yell at and scold them when they did something “wrong.” 

That’s why Richie was scared of commitment for so many years. He didn’t want to be chained to someone who would boss him around constantly for their own sick enjoyment.

Once Richie found out how disgusted Eddie was by that behavior, he wasn’t as hesitant towards getting married.

Sure, Richie would do stuff that would drive Eddie nuts and Eddie would get mad (and vice versa, but Richie rarely got angry.) But then they would argue about it or work it out like a normal couple. Eddie would never  _ ever _ treat Richie like he was below him and the only time Eddie would  _ ever _ raise his voice at Richie is if he was in danger.

Richie was  _ so _ grateful that Eddie actually loved him and wasn’t a power-hungry asshole.

But he had self-destructive behaviors and Eddie has anxiety about Richie hurting himself while Eddie was away from home. So Eddie liked to use positive reinforcement when Richie did something not as destructive as something he would normally do. That way, Eddie could feel more secure when he left Richie at home by himself. And Richie  _ really _ liked to make Eddie happy.

Richie felt one of Eddie’s hands scratching gently behind one of his ears. “Good choice.”

Richie started to slump back to lean on Eddie, but Eddie pushed him back up with the other hand. “Don’t lay down while you eat, you’ll choke.”

Richie stopped licking just to say, “Bold of you to assume that I’m not into that.”

Eddie made an exasperated noise and stopped scratching, causing Richie to whine.

“Eddieeeeeee.”

Eddie huffed. “Finish eating,  _ sowly, _ and  _ then _ you can lie down.”

Richie, now noticing that his exhaustion was outweighing his pain, did as he was told.

When Richie was done he handed the container to Eddie, who tossed it into the nearby garbage can.

“Wanna sleep?” Edidie asked.

Richie, instead of answering, yawned.

Eddie chuckled. “Do you want the blanket?”

Richie knew what “the blanket” was at this point.

Eddie, knowing how much Richie liked being warm when in pain, searched for a heating pad/heated blanket. Every single option gave him anxiety about overheating Richie or setting the house on fire, until he found the perfect one.

It was a large blanket with five settings. It had tiny sensors in the fabric that regulated the temperature. It even shut itself off if unattended for a while and turned itself back on when it got too cold while it was still plugged in.

Richie jokes about how it was probably enchanted, which would make sense, but neither of them questioned it since it satisfied both of their needs.

Richie slowly turned around to face Eddie and nodded.

Eddie grabbed the blanket from the corner of the bed and unfolded it. He plugged it into the nearby outlet and set it to the fourth setting (Richie’s favorite.)

“Want me in it with you?” Eddie asked.

Richie knew that Eddie liked the blanket as much as he did.

Richie smiled. “Obviously.”

Eddie spread the blanket out across the bed and lied down on it. When he was comfortably situated, he gestured for Richie to come closer. 

Normally, when presented with the opportunity, Richie would lie on Eddie chest-to-chest. But today, Richie just wanted to be  _ held. _

So he lied down on his own back on top of Eddie.

Eddie laughed. “Didn’t expect you to do that.”

“Oh… Are you uncomfortable?”

“No, it’s okay. This is nice…”

Richie grabbed the ends of the blanket, wrapping himself up in the rest of it.

He noticed how warm it already was. Eddie must've plugged it in before returning to the bathroom earlier.

“Comfortable?” Eddie asked.

Richie hummed in affirmation, relaxing fully onto Eddie.

Normally Richie wouldn’t even consider lying on somebody when he was still in pain, but Eddie was surprisingly comfortable. He wasn’t comfortable temperature-wise (the blanket hadn’t had time to take effect yet) but he was soft and didn’t make Richie’s aches any worse.

“Don’t need me to adjust?” Eddie pressed.

“Eds, I would tell you if it hurt.”

“Okay, you better. Need any help falling asleep?”

Richie felt drowsy but not in a ‘I need to sleep  _ now’ _ way. It was more of a ‘It could wait’ way, but Richie  _ did _ want to get some rest.

Richie yawned. “Maybe a little."

Eddie kissed the back of Richie’s neck. “Alright, you’ve got it.”

Richie expected Eddie to start scratching his head or playing with his hair.

Instead, Eddie started rubbing Richie’s belly.

Richie stiffened in surprise momentarily before relaxing again.

“That feel good?” Eddie asked softly.

“Mmm hmm…”

Eddie went from gently rubbing with the pads of his fingers, to using his nails to gently scratch up and down Richie’s belly.

Richie sighed and couldn’t stop his foot from twitching.

Eddie chuckled, his movements never faltering. “Get some sleep, baby.”

Richie yawned again. “M’kay, Eds. I love you.”

Eddie pressed one final kiss to his neck before Richie was drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Dammit... I thought I would be _on time_ for Halloween...


End file.
